Fernandes

Liverpool are confident of signing Bradley Barcola, Alex Scott favours a move to Arsenal, Bruno Fernandes is ready to commit his future to Manchester United.

Liverpool are confident they can beat Arsenal and Bayern Munich to the signature of Paris St-Germain forward Bradley Barcola, after the 23-year-old impressed with four goal contributions at the World Cup with France this summer. (Sun), external

Arsenal are edging the battle with Manchester United for sought-after Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, 22 – but the England Under-21 international has concerns around how much game time he would get at the Emirates. (Mirror), external

Scott is keen on a move to Chelsea after the Cherries rejected a £64m bid from the Blues. (The Standard), external

Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, 31, has decided to commit his future to Manchester United, with talks around a new deal ongoing. (Express), external

Besiktas are trying to sign English midfielder Joe Willock, 26, who is in the final year of his contract at Newcastle and will not be offered a new deal. (Telegraph), external

Arsenal are not ruling out the sale of their captain Martin Odegaard, and will listen to offers for the 27-year-old Norway midfielder. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester United are exploring a move for Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, 23, who missed out on a place in France’s World Cup squad this summer. (Nicolo Schira), external

Roma have asked about the availability of Chelsea centre-back Axel Disasi, 28 – and the Blues have set an asking price of around £17m for the Frenchman. (Footmercato – in French), external

Fulham have opened negotiations with Real Madrid over a potential move for highly-rated striker Gonzalo Garcia, 22. (The Athletic – subscription required), external

Real Madrid scout Arsenal‘s Riccardo Calafiori, Tottenham consider Juventus defender Gleison Bremer to replace Cristian Romero, Manchester United chase Newcastle‘s Lewis Hall.

Real Madrid are interested in Arsenal and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori, 24, who previously played under Jose Mourinho at Roma. (Sky Sports), external

Tottenham are considering a move for Juventus and Brazil defender Gleison Bremer, 29, to replace 28-year-old Argentina international Cristian Romero in central defence. (Tuttosport – in Italian), external

Manchester United are not interested in signing Romero from Tottenham but are interested in Newcastle‘s versatile 21-year-old English defender Lewis Hall. (Teamtalk), external

Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is willing to satisfy the wage demands of Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, 23, in order to bring him to Manchester United. (Mirror), external

Manchester City remain the frontrunners to sign Anderson despite United’s efforts to steal a march on their rivals. (Star – subscription required), external

Incoming Real Madrid boss Mourinho is keen on West Ham‘s 21-year-old Portugal midfielder Mateus Fernandes who is also of interest to Chelsea. (AS – in Spanish), external

Manchester United are also exploring a deal for Fernandes with West Ham valuing the player at about £80m, but the London club are in no rush to sell him. (Sky Sports), external

Manchester United are considering a surprise move for 35-year-old English goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who is out of contract at Leeds this summer, with Turkish shot-stopper Altay Bayindir, 28, set leave Old Trafford. (Talksport, external)

Fulham are interested in signing Nigeria midfielder Samuel Chukwueze from AC Milan following the 27-year-old’s season-long loan at Craven Cottage, but are trying to negotiate a smaller fee. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Atletico Madrid are hopeful of persuading former Manchester City midfielder Bernando Silva to join them instead of Barcelona or Real Madrid because they can offer the 31-year-old Portuguese more game time. (Marca – in Spanish), external

Fulham are weighing up whether to trigger the £8m release clause of Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna, who leads their list of candidates to replace Marco Silva. (Talksport, external)

Leicester are in talks with former Southampton and Rangers head coach Russell Martin about taking over the club following their relegation to League One. (Leicester Mercury, external)

Real Madrid to join Mateus Fernandes race, Brighton reject Spurs’ second Jan Paul van Hecke bid and Harry Maguire could leave Manchester United.

Real Madrid are set to join the race to sign Portugal midfielder Mateus Fernandes, 21, following West Ham‘s relegation from the Premier League. (Sun), external

Brighton have rejected a second bid from Tottenham Hotspur for Netherlands centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke, 25. (Talksport), external

Harry Maguire could be allowed to leave Manchester United this summer, just months after the England defender, 33, signed a new contract. (Football Insider), external

Inter Milan have made an offer for England midfielder Curtis Jones, 25, but are currently some way short of Liverpool‘s valuation. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Liverpool could use Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo, 27, as leverage in their bid to sign Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, 19, from RB Leipzig. (Teamtalk), external

Bayern Munich have said they have no intention of selling Michael Olise after Real Madrid said they would offer £130m for the France winger, 24. (Bild – in German), external

Bernardo Silva says that joining Barcelona is “an option” after leaving Manchester City but the Portugal midfielder, 31, is yet to make a decision on his future. (Marca – in Spanish), external

Tottenham‘s Italy international Guglielmo Vicario, 29, has emerged as the frontrunner as Juventus look to sign a new goalkeeper. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Coventry City have submitted a club-record £20m bid for Carl Rushworth, the 24-year-old English goalkeeper who helped the Sky Blues win the Championship while on loan from Brighton last season. (Talksport), external

Aston Villa do not plan to sell Morgan Rogers amid interest in the attacking midfielder, Barcelona remain keen on signing Marcus Rashford from Manchester United and Real Madrid hold talks with Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries.

Aston Villa are aware of interest in attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers from a number of clubs, including Arsenal, but have no intention of selling the 23-year-old England international. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Germany full-back Nathaniel Brown, 22, is the subject of interest from Bayern Munich and Arsenal. (The Athletic – subscription required), external

Manchester City and Chelsea are interested in Juventus’ wing-back Andrea Cambiaso, 26, with Barcelona also monitoring the Italy international’s situation. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Liverpool and Paris St-Germain might both want RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande but the German club are calm about the situation as they believe the 19-year-old will not only stay with them for another year but also sign a new improved contract. (Sky Sports Germany), external

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick, sporting director Deco and president Joan Laporta remain keen to sign Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford on a permanent basis amid interest from Bayern Munich, Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa in the 28-year-old England international. (The I), external

Juventus are looking at a move for 27-year-old Bournemouth and Netherlands forward Justin Kluivert as an alternative to Real Madrid’s 26-year-old Morocco ineternational Brahim Diaz. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Manchester United have scouted Juventus and France defender Pierre Kalulu and the Turin club might be forced to sell the 25-year-old to balance the books after failing to qualify for the Champions League. (Corriere dello Sport – in Italian), external

Portugal midfielder Mateus Fernandes, 21, has been cleared to leave West Ham after contact from Manchester United and Arsenal, while Liverpool and Paris St-Germain are also monitoring developments. (Teamtalk), external

Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are interested in Club Brugge’s German striker Nicolo Tresoldi, 21, after a prolific season in Belgium. (The Athletic – subscription required), external

Real Madrid have held talks with Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries, who has a £21.6m release clause, as they view the 30-year-old Dutch international as their top target to strengthen at right-back. (Athletic), external

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has not come close to winning the Premier League or Champions League since joining the club in 2020.

He did lift a couple of domestic cups under Erik ten Hag – and if United finish third this season, it will be a position they have only bettered once during Fernandes’ time at Old Trafford.

But it represents a meagre return for a player many argue is United’s best signing since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and someone, they argue, who deserves a place among the club’s best in the Premier League era.

On Friday, he was named the Football Writers’ Association’s footballer of the year. But Fernandes is not one for coveting individual awards.

When he spoke to the media in October, he said: “I don’t see it that one player is better than another because he wins more trophies. Not every time the best player in the world is the one that wins the Ballon d’Or.

“I want to win trophies. I want to be recognised by the many good things I did for the club, for bringing something back to the club, not just my individual numbers.”

United will not win a trophy this season, but there are still a couple of significant milestones ahead of Fernandes.

He needs just one more assist to equal the individual Premier League record of 20 in a single campaign – jointly held by Arsenal great Thierry Henry and former Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne.

Fernandes is eight clear of Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki in the Premier League’s assists chart this season, with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen third with 10 assists.

Beating the record clearly means a lot to Fernandes, who will be a key part of Portugal’s World Cup squad this summer. So much so, one of his United team-mates told him he felt Fernandes would previously have taken a shot against Brentford recently, rather than set up striker Benjamin Sesko. Fernandes rejected that notion.

Fernandes is also favourite to win the prestigious PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, which Henry and De Bruyne both took twice.

Despite the lack of major trophies, would the assist record and another player of the year award confirm his status as one of the most creative forces of the Premier League era?

There is no doubt Manchester United have given Bruno Fernandes a push to get this award.

United have been playing up Fernandes’ claims and also ensured the Portugal playmaker was promoted through some recent media engagements.

However, this would have been pointless had Fernandes not delivered at a time in the season when United needed him to deliver.

In October, when Fernandes spoke about qualification for the Champions League, few thought it was likely.

In January, when technical director Jason Wilcox told the United squad that was the aim despite Ruben Amorim’s dismissal, it seemed a tall order.

That they have achieved it with three matches to spare and could yet end the campaign nearer in points terms to the eventual champions than in any other season since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement 13 years ago, owes a huge amount to Fernandes.

Since returning from a rare injury against Burnley, Sunday’s victory over Liverpool was only the third match out of 16 in all competitions when Fernandes has not either scored a goal or created one.

His performances across the season have been consistently high and worthy of wider recognition.

Twelve months ago, when the debate over Fernandes’ United future raged, the question being asked was simply this: where would they be without him? The suspicion was they would have been much closer to relegation than they actually were.

The same could be asked now. The answer? They surely would not be looking forward to a Champions League return.